312 THE 



of trap, which here exists in huge masses, and through 

 which they furiously force their way over a low fall in 

 a narrow chasm not more than ten feet wide, into a deep, 

 black-looking, oval basin, formed out of the solid rock, 

 and surrounded on all sides, except the under one 

 through which the waters issue, by a high perpendicular 

 wall of stone. I once saw an otter-hound carried head- 

 long, or rather sucked in, by the raging current into 

 this fearful abyss ; but contrary to the expectation of 

 every one present, he gallantly rose uninjured to the 

 surface, after shooting like an arrow through the narrow 

 gorge and disappearing for a considerable time in the 

 whirlpool below, and finally buffeted his way to terra 

 firma, through the opening at the bottom of the basin. 

 A ferry-boat is here kept by a woman residing in a 

 neighbouring cottage, who is in the habit of rowing the 

 curious some distance into the basin below the fall, from 

 whence the best view of the whole is obtained. 



From this part of the river to its mouth, its course 

 is mostly over a gravelly bed, interspersed with occa- 

 sional rocky stretches, while it still maintains its cha- 

 racter as an angling stream unimpaired ; the whole 

 being an uninterrupted succession of stream and pool, 

 with the occurrence of five or six mill-dams, forming 

 sheets of deep still water, in which large trout abound. 

 Only in the lower and deeper parts of the river the fish 

 in general run of a larger size than they do higher up, as 

 is generally the case with most rivers. The Whitadder, 

 taken as a whole, can scarcely be surpassed as an angl- 

 ing river ; and there are few who have once visited it, 

 and enjoyed themselves upon its banks, who will not 



